Case Study: Beautiful, Fully Automated Software Store

Background and Challenge

Caring for the technology needs of more than 150,000 students and employees is a normal day for University Health, one of the largest university teaching hospital networks in the U.S.

As high-touch, self-service is becoming critical in IT, the Office of the President wanted to tackle a large and visible IT need in a dramatic way. They challenged IT to deliver a beautiful, automated Software Store so employees and students alike could buy and install software at the push of a button. At the same time, he wanted better management and financial accountability around software purchases. A tall order!

ServiceNow was selected for the power and functionality of its single platform as well as the flexibility and richness of its self-service and service catalog.

Evergreen had a long, successful history with the team at University Health. This, along with leading capabilities in beautiful, user-centric Service Catalogs and the ability to quickly create engaging custom solutions led University Health to engage Evergreen.

Evergreen's Approach

Time was of the essence – the brand new, Automated Software Store had to be in operation across the enterprise within four months.

Evergreen worked with University Health to understand and execute on their key business needs. Four themes emerged:

Broad Reach and Beauty.A beautiful user experience carefully integrated with existing systems had to be delivered from the start.

Massive Self Service and Simplicity. With 150,000 users, scale mattered right from the start, and customers had to be able to navigate the portal simply and effectively.

Complete Financial Accountability. Cost allocation by department had to be automatic and complete at the point of purchase. Full integration with SAP and University Health's purchase order system was required. Controls and approvals based on the shopper had to be well thought out and in place.

Streamlined Asset Management.Full lifecycle software asset management, including assets allocated, inventory and entitlement history had to be highly automated and tracked from the beginning.

Evergreen leveraged its experience creating dozens of beautiful, complete Service Catalogs (powered by ServiceNow technology) to help shape the customer’s desired future state and functionality. Development was done in an agile deployment methodology with short release cycles and frequent in-stage reviews.

Integrations with SAP and Microsoft SCCM were built to ensure a smooth “end-to-end,” self-service, highly automated experience. Controls and approvals based on the request, role and management level were automated as part of the transaction flow.

Outcome and Benefits

The Automated Software Store went from concept to reality in under four months, right on schedule. According to the Director, “user acceptance is great, and the Office of the President is thrilled.”

At initial operation, the Automated Software Store offers customers a surprisingly wide variety of software – more than 200 titles.

All students, faculty and employees can now self-service their software needs.

University Health has significantly improved control over the full software lifecycle as well as very accurate financial allocation – all automated at the point of user transaction.

Customers of the Automated Software Store can choose between four different delivery options – all the way from fully automated push-button installation to receiving the physical media.

150,000 students, faculty and employees are served by the Automated Software Store, which is maintained and enhanced by only three employees!

The Automated Software Store is a clear example of IT driving transformation at University Health – delivering beautiful, engaging experiences to their customers.

Knowledge 19 Sponsor Evergreen Systems - Booth 255 at #know19

We are at a crossroads today and thanks to your [Evergreen Evolve] efforts we are a shining example to the rest of the business. There are other IT units that have had failures — major upgrade failures — and these become visible to senior management. We are one of the few that have not become visible due to failure, we are visible simply because of quality work, dedication and making it happen.